Come back
by Ade321
Summary: Just a scene that wouldn't let me sleep. Stephanie lands in the hospital again and needs a little encouragement to make it through
1. Chapter 1

_Not mine, not making any money._

All of a sudden I became aware of the all too familiar incessant beeping. _Damn it, I'm in the hospital again._ My head was full of fog and it seemed to be dragging me down, darkness seeping at the edges of my consciousness. Just when I was about to let the darkness drag me under completely, I felt someone squeezing my hand.

 _You can get through it Steph, don't give in._

I knew that voice and I knew that touch. Unfortunately, my memory couldn't come up with a name at the moment and after a few seconds I stopped trying to remember. It was giving me a headache. I had just enough energy to hold on to my consciousness and do as the voice asked. It seemed important somehow. There were other voices in the room, but I couldn't make them out. I was focusing with all my might on the warm feeling radiating from my hand.

 _Jesus Christ, Manoso, she can't hear you. Stop crowding her_.

Ranger didn't react to the words. He was intently studying Stephanie's face, looking for any sign. He just knew she could hear him and it was vital that she got through the induced coma the doctors had put her in after her car crash.

 _Come on, babe. Fight through it. I know you can hear me. Come back to me_ , he whispered in her ear, too low for the other man to hear him.

 _I'm trying. It's just so damn hard and I'm so tired_ , she thought. It took all her remaining energy to try to squeeze his hand and let him know she was trying. Her fingers barely twitched but it was enough for him. If Morelli would have been looking, he would have seen the relief on his face.

 _That's it babe, take your time. Just come back to me._ He settled in for the wait, knowing it would be a while until she managed to get herself out of the coma.

Morelli was pacing the room, shooting glances every once in a while at the woman on the bed. One of these days, she'll be the death of him. He couldn't even blame it on her this time around. She was driving through the intersection, when a truck t-boned her, throwing her into an electricity pole. It took five hours for the rescue team to cut her out of the remains of her car. I guess he should be grateful the damn thing didn't explode like her cars usually did. Every near miss was eating a new hole into his stomach and he was surprised he hadn't gotten an ulcer yet. As usual when he got scared, his temper ignited, looking for something or someone he could unload some of his fear and frustration onto. Too bad Ranger was ignoring him, he would give an arm and a leg to punch him right about now.

He looked at the other man again, studying the way he was holding on to Steph's hand. He looked pretty calm right now, but a few hours ago he could read the tension in him when he saw her laying motionless in the hospital bed. He hadn't moved an inch since then, staring intently at her face, speaking to her from time to time. Morelli wasn't sure if the guy was completely off his game thinking she could hear him or if he was trying to goad him by playing the concerned boyfriend's role.

 _Christ, he should be there holding her hand, not Manoso_. He just couldn't get a handle on his temper and stop pacing. _Dear God, let her pull through this one. I'll tie her to my water heater in my basement to keep her safe. Yeah, better rethink that one. She'll no doubt kick me in the boys if she knew what I was planning. Not that she could do any kicking for a while._ He looked back at her, taking in all the bruises and cuts, the matted curls and the tubes and wires she was connected to.

She could feel the tubes and wires connected to her, but she could do nothing to remove them. It seemed her energy was coming and going in waves, leaving her drained with every ebb. The fog had cleared just a little and she could just make out a sniff of Bulgari. Ranger. Somehow, she knew he was the one holding her hand, asking her to fight, the knowledge coming from somewhere deep inside her. Holding strong to the thought of Ranger asking her to pull through, she gathered all her energy and tried to crack her eyes open. She could just make out the dim room and his face.

 _Ranger,_ she breathed, too low for anyone except him to hear her.

 _I'm here babe. Proud of you,_ he whispered back.

 _Stay_ _with me_ , she managed to get out before sleep dragged her under again. She didn't hear his promise and she didn't hear him calling for the nurse, letting the doctors know she woke up for just a while.

 _Christ, you're losing your marbles, Manoso. I was right here and I didn't hear a thing. Are you sure you didn't imagine it?_

Ranger just starred hard at the other man, not deigning to answer him. It was time to call reinforcements. He hoped by now Bobby had managed to hunt down the best possible doctors for Stephanie. He would make sure she had all the help she needed to recover completely.

Time passed slowly, the beeping of the monitors counting away the minutes. The night shift ended and new nurses came in to check on Stephanie and still the two men stood guard close to her. The only difference in the picture was Morelli slumped down in one of the visitor chairs. The adrenaline rush and his temper had finally burned out, leaving him exhausted. Ranger was impressed to see he was still holding strong, fighting sleep. He looked like crap, his face shadowed by his beard, dark circles under his eyes and his skin the color of plaster.

Morelli looked across the bed at Ranger for what seemed like the millionth time in the last few hours. The man was a freaking robot. He hadn't moved since Stephanie woke up, no bathroom breaks, not food and no water. The Batman impersonation was still going strong and he had to work hard to keep in the snort that threatened to come out. Jesus, but he was tired. He wasn't going to sleep though. He felt like shit he hadn't noticed Stephanie waking up the first time. He'd tried to convince himself that Manoso had imagined it, but deep down he knew the truth. He was just so consumed by stress and fear, he hadn't noticed. He'll notice the second time around.

Just then Ranger's phone beeped and he unclipped it from his belt and read the message. He glanced at Morelli, for the first time indecision clear on his face. The team of doctors would be arriving in five minutes and he had to go meet with them before they checked on Steph. He just didn't know how to do that without leaving her side. Praying that she wouldn't wake up while he was gone, he addressed Morelli.

 _I have a team of doctors coming to check Steph. They'll be here in about five minutes. I have to go meet with them before they come to check her._

Morelli nodded. _I'll stay with her._

Ranger hesitated again for just a second before he got up and left the room. He would try to wrap things up as fast as possible. For the first time since getting to the hospital, Morelli was alone with Stephanie.

 _Come on, Cupcake. I'll buy you Pino's if you open your eyes. Hell, I'll keep you in Pino's and birthday cake for a month if you wake up_ , he joked and looked at her face, looking for any sign of consciousness. Finding none, he sighed deeply and rested his head on the edge of the bed. Before he could fall asleep, he felt Stephanie's hand twitch and looked up to see her looking at him. She didn't seem fully aware, her vision slightly clouded.

 _Ranger_ , she whispered, her dry lips barely forming the word.

 _Of course the first thing she asks for after coming out of a coma was the nutcase_ , Morelli thought. He could feel the anger coming back full force. _He's gone downstairs to talk to the doctors. Christ Cupcake, you scared the crap out of everyone._

She didn't hear everything he told her. She felt dread and desperation gathering in her stomach as soon as she heard Ranger was gone, her brain tuning out the rest of the sentence. She wasn't even entirely sure she had woken up, she felt so tired and confused. But she couldn't sense him anywhere near her, no Bulgari and no warm hand squeezing hers reassuringly. He was gone. As soon as the thought formed, blackness moved in and she could feel herself slipping further and further. Thank God, the annoying beeping was fading too.

Morelli knew the exact moment she crashed. He saw it on her face. One second she was asking for Ranger and the next blankness took over and her body went completely still. If that wasn't enough, the beeping increased and the nurse ran in, asking the doctors to answer to a code blue. He watched in terror as they pushed him aside and began resuscitating her. Paddles, new tubes and new medicine inserted into her IV. His brain had shorted out, refusing to take in the meaning of what was happening. A sharp bark brought him out of his stupor.

 _What happened, Morelli?_

 _Great, the nutcase's back_ , was the first thought he was aware of. _Nothing happened, Manoso. She woke up, asked for you and then she crashed._

 _What exactly did you tell her?_

 _I told her you'd gone to meet the doctors._

Anger and something else was rolling off of Ranger in waves. If Morelli didn't know better, he would have said there was remorse in Ranger's face. Right along with a big dose of fear. He watched as Ranger stepped closer to Steph's bed, the doctors working around him. He took her hand and brought it to his lips, lightly tracing her knuckles. He bent down to whisper in her ear, the noises in the room drowning out his words.

 _Babe, come back. I'm right here. Don't leave me._ Bile was rising in his throat at the thought he could lose her. He kept asking her to come back, lightly stroking her hair and brushing her knuckles with his lips. He took no notice of what was going on around them, as he was intently watching her face.

She was so small and the mountain pressing in on her so heavy. She wasn't sure how long she could hold on or why was she struggling to do so. And then she felt it. The warmth, the perfume, the voice beckoning to her. She felt the mountain shifting, the load getting easier by increments. And then it came to her. She was in the hospital and Ranger had asked her to hold on and not give up. She pushed and struggled and fought her body's weakness and the darkness seemed to lighten with each passing second, until she felt like she was swimming right under the surface of the water. One slight breath and she would wake up. She took the breath and pushed through, her eyes opening again, looking into the warm, brown ones before her, reading the relief and happiness there.


	2. Chapter 2

SPOV

It would take three damn weeks to get rid of all the tubes and wires holding me together. Three weeks of being stuck in a bed, staring at blank white walls most of the time. I had a ruptured spleen, a few cracked ribs, a broken left leg and a whole lot of cuts and bruises everywhere. For the first week I couldn't even get out of bed to use the bathroom. Every now and again I got terrible headaches, but my doctors kept assuring me they weren't permanent. I was certainly grateful to be alive, but I was slowly going crazy tied up to the monitors near my bed.

It didn't take long for people to start cornering … ahem… _visiting_ me and asking questions. In fact, not five minutes after I opened my eyes to see Ranger looking at me with relief, Joe cleared his throat. He looked torn between getting angry and being relieved I was alive.

 _Thank God, you're alive, Cupcake,_ he finally managed.

I nodded. There wasn't anything I could add to that.

 _What happened? How long was I out?_ I vaguely remembered the intersection and being hit, struggling to reach for my phone to call for help.

 _You were in a car accident, babe. What's the last thing you remember?_

 _I remember the truck hitting me and trying to speed dial one and…_

 _I never got your call, Steph,_ Joe interrupted.

My eyes flicked to Ranger's face and I must have looked guilty.

 _Great, you've got Rambo here on speed dial one._ _I suppose this should bother me, but since you need to be rescued on a daily basis, I guess it makes sense._ As soon as the words left my mouth, I regretted them. Stephanie was barely out of a coma and here I was, being an ass. I needed some sleep and to clear my head before I said anything else. _Look Steph, I'm really glad you're alive and I guess we need to talk, but obviously now is not the time for it. I'll let you rest and come visit you later._

He didn't even wait for a reply, which was fine with me, because nothing I could say to him at the moment was very nice. My eyes found Ranger again. He looked tired and a little wary.

 _Don't take it the wrong way, Ranger, but you look like I feel. When was the last time you slept or ate? Actually, when was the last time I ate?_ I asked.

He managed a smile, before answering. _Relax babe,_ _you only missed a couple of meals. You were out for three days._ _There are some doctors here to see you babe, now that you're awake._

 _Will you stay?_ I asked, still uncomfortable at the thought of him leaving.

 _Of course,_ he answered simply and got up to open the door to my doctors. For the next few hours I was prodded and checked by a horde of doctors. Before the last one could finish what he was doing, I was asleep.

Waking up was certainly getting easier, but I was struck by a powerful sense of déjà vu. Morelli and Ranger were sitting beside my bed, starring daggers at each other. Well, Morelli was starring, Ranger was his usual impassive self, which seemed to irk Joe to no end. Before I could fake still being asleep, Morelli noticed me.

 _Hi, Cupcake. How are you feeling?_

 _Like I was run over by a truck_. I knew it was a cheesy line, but let's face it. How often could I use it truthfully? I sobered up quickly realizing that being me, I might just find myself using it more than once. I rolled my eyes at myself.

 _How long have you been waiting?_ I asked.

 _Not long_ , he said. _I just got here 20 minutes ago. Listen Steph…can we talk?_ _Privately_ , he then added, shooting Ranger a black look.

 _Sure_ , I answered.

 _I'll just be outside if you need anything_ , Ranger said before leaving.

The room was quiet after he left, the silence awkward. I didn't know how to break the silence and by the look on Morelli's face I wasn't sure I wanted to break it. He got up and started pacing the room, gesturing and muttering to himself.

JPOV

I found myself pacing again, trying to order my thoughts. Somehow I knew this conversation was pivotal to my relationship with Steph and I didn't want to put my foot in my mouth and ruin things. There was a sinking feeling in my stomach that I was trying hard to ignore. It started soon after hearing about Steph's accident and only snowballed from there. It certainly didn't get better when she crashed, nor did it get better when she only seemed to be reacting to Ranger's presence. I didn't know what it all meant, but it couldn't be anything good for me and I was at a loss at how to turn things around. I took a deep breath and begun.

 _Look Steph. I was thinking… You'll obviously need some help once you get home and I know how you hate to go back to your parents and I was thinking that we could take advantage of the situation and turn things around for us. See the silver lining kind of thing, you know,_ I rambled on. OK, this was not going great. I could see that Steph was not totally following me.

 _I'd like you to move in with me_ , I said looking into her eyes. _I could take care of you while you're recuperating and it might just be what we need to take things to the next level. You wouldn't have to pay rent so obviously not working would be just fine. Of course, once you're better you could go back to bounty hunting if that's what you want,_ I hurried to add seeing the look on her face. _But you wouldn't have to. It would be your choice. If you do go back to bounty hunting, maybe I could help you from time to time. You know, with information and stuff. I want you to be able to count on me._ I didn't add that I was hoping she wouldn't feel the need to have Ranger on speed dial one anymore. _You know I love you and this accident was a wake-up call,_ I finished my speech and looked at her waiting or an answer. She had a deer-in-the-headlights look on her face and she was quiet for a long time. I was starting to get nervous and was about to add that she didn't need to decide right away when she spoke, her voice a little raspy.

 _Joe, you know I love you, too…_

 _But?_ I asked, the ball of dread growing a little bit bigger. Funny how I could physically feel it in my stomach, like a nice little piece of ice. Never knew that could happen. I felt my knees weaken and sat down in the chair close to the bed.

SPOV

 _But I don't think that's the best idea,_ I added _._ Crap on a cracker, this was hard to do. I didn't see this coming and I had no clue what to do. But judging by the nausea I kept feeling every time I thought about a permanent commitment to Joe, moving in might not be wise. Sure, it was great and a bit surprising he was supportive about my job and was willing to help me out, but I knew Joe. The first time my car would blow up or a skip would take a shot at me, he'd be back to drinking Maalox and wishing I had a safer job, like sword eating or you know, bomb tech. _It just feels like both of us would be compromising too much to make things work. Can you really imagine grandma Bella and grandma Mazur at the same Christmas table without World War III breaking out?_

 _We might have to have two Christmas dinners to make it work,_ he adds with a sad smile.

 _Joe, I'm really grateful for your offer to help me out now and again but can you honestly say you'd be okay with my job? As fucked up as it sounds, I like my life just as it is, explosions and shoot-outs included. I like taking down scumbags and I'm kind of proud of being able to track them down every time. Granted, I might not excel at apprehending them, but I can get help with that. I feel I'd have to cut down on the dangerous stuff if I moved in. I mean, I don't give a crap if someone firebombs my apartment, it's all third hand furniture and crappy appliances anyway. Hell, as long as Rex makes it out alive, I hope someone finally takes out the damn bathroom. But I'd feel horrible if someone firebombed your home. I haven't even gotten over the garage exploding and you weren't using it. It's not fair to you to have to live with my job when you hate me doing it and it's not fair to me to feel guilty about doing something I like._

 _Is this about Ranger?_ Joe asked getting up and resuming pacing.

 _No, Joe. This is about you and me and us not being on the same page._

He sighed heavily. _Yeah, right. Look Steph, I need to get to work. I'll see you around,_ he added without meeting my eyes, hurrying out.

I spaced out for a few minutes contemplating the end of a very complicated relationship. For the past several years, Morelli had been a very big part of my life and there were parts of me – I suspected these were the same parts that were responsible for my repeated amorous encounters with Morelli through the years - that still hoped for a happily ever after with him. Letting go of him was in a way letting go of everything familiar and opening up to the big unknown. I didn't know exactly what the future would bring, but at least I knew what I didn't want my life to be like. I was brought out of my reverie by Ranger's voice.

 _Do I need to firebomb your bathroom, babe? he asked,_ a smile ghosting across his face. Either the walls in this hospital were paper thin or he had a bug somewhere in my room. Possibly both. I tried to work up some indignation at him listening in to my private conversations, but I couldn't quite seem to get a handle on it.

 _I could probably live with it as it is …. as long as you're in it,_ I said without thinking and watched as the smile turned into a wolf grin.

 _I'll see what I can do_ , he answered getting closer to the bed. _I should probably make sure you like your whole apartment…your kitchen, your living room and especially your bedroom_ , he teased. _Though it might be better if you altogether come to hate the place._ He bent down, bringing his face closer to mine.

 _Hmm…why is that?_ I was embarrassed to hear the heart monitor pick up. Great, now the whole hospital will know how he affects me.

 _Might be easier to convince you to move in with me. I have a closet I can share and excellent bed sheets, so I'm told._ It was getting impossible to concentrate with his nose skimming my outer ear, though I made an effort.

 _Moving in and closet sharing sounds an awful lot like being in a relationship,_ I whispered.

 _That it does, though I remember offering to explain to you what a relationship entailed_ , he teased again, wolf grin still in place. _I'd be glad to get into … the finer points of that._

He was now kissing down my neck and I had to work hard to stop the moan this time. _I'm sure you would. Would I have to leave your bed at some point?_

 _Only if you still want to work and you promise to eventually come back in it._ His lips were now hovering at the corner of my mouth.

 _You could always come … with me_ , I suggested, a smile of my own in place.

 _That's always a given with you, babe_.

 _Good to know_. _Do you think you'll kiss me anytime soon?_ I barely had time to finish my sentence that his lips crashed on mine. Every time Ranger kisses me there's a rush of emotions surging through me, but this time kissing him was like finally coming home. We might need to have another similar conversation at some point, but for now it was enough to know we had a place we could come back to each other to.


End file.
